Bridgewater State Bears football

Bridgewater State Bears football
First season	1894;131 years ago (1894) [a]
Athletic director	Marybeth Lamb
Head coach	Joe Verria 9th season, 49–34 (.590)
Stadium	Swenson Field (capacity: 1,600)
Field surface	FieldTurf
Location	Bridgewater, Massachusetts
NCAA division	Division III
Conference	MASCAC
Past conferences	NEFC
All-time record	335–238–7 (.584)
Bowl record	4–5 (.444)
Playoff appearances	4 (1999, 2000, 2012, 2016)
Playoff record	0–4 (.000)
Conference titles	7
Rivalries	Massachusetts Maritime (Cranberry Bowl) [1]
Colors	Crimson, white, and black [2]
Mascot	BRISTACO the Bear
Website	bsubears.com/football

The Bridgewater State Bears football team represents Bridgewater State University in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The Bears are members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC), fielding its team in the MASCAC since 2013. The Bears play their home games at Swenson Field in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. ^[3]

The Bridgewater State football team has been one of the most successful athletic teams at the school since the program was started in 1960. Bridgewater State is a member of the MASCAC, which will sponsor football for the first time in its history beginning in 2013. Bridgewater State was formerly a founding member of the New England Football Conference from 1965 to 2012. The new MASCAC football conference will consist of nine schools. These member schools are Bridgewater State University, Fitchburg State University, Framingham State University, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Westfield State University, Worcester State University, Plymouth State University, UMass-Dartmouth, and Western Connecticut State University. Bridgewater State will begin MASCAC play in 2013.

Their head coach is Joe Verria, who took over the position for the 2016 season. ^[4]

History

Known as Bridgewater Normal, the team played throughout the 1890s and 1920s before being disbanded in 1925. ^[5] In 1959, athletic director and basketball coach Ed Sweeney announced that football would return as a varsity sport after students voluntarily taxed themselves seven dollars per year to fund the restart of the team. ^[6]

The team began play in 1960 with a four game schedule.

Head coach Chuck Denune recently completed his 11th season at the helm in 2015. In 2012, the Bears ended the regular season with a 9–1 record and qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament with an at-large bid for the third time in the program's history. Bridgewater State also qualified for the NCAA Division III National Tournament in 1999 and 2000. The Bears lost in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament to Widener University of West Chester, Pennsylvania by a score of 44–14. The Bears football team finished the 2012 season with a 9–2 overall record and finished in 2nd place in the New England Football Conference standings. Bridgewater also hosted the 2011 (ECAC) Eastern College Athletic Conference Northeast Bowl and competed against Alfred University. Unfortunately, the Bears lost 41–10, and finished the 2011 season with a 7–4 record. ^[7]

The most successful head football coach in Bridgewater State's history is Peter Mazzaferro. Coach Mazzaferro was the head football coach at Bridgewater from 1968 to 2004 (36 years) and is one of the most successful Division III football coaches in history. During his coaching tenure, he led the Bears to 2 NCAA D-III National Tournament appearances, 8 NEFC League Championships, 3 MASCAC Championships, and 2 ECAC Postseason appearances. With an overall coaching record of 209–157–11, Mazzaferro is the 57th winningest coach in NCAA College Football history, and he is regarded as a coaching legend in the New England region and is further regarded as one of the greatest Division III college football coaches of all time.

Conference affiliations

• NAIA independent (1960–1964)
• New England Football Conference (1965–2012) ^[8]
• Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (2013–present) ^[9]

Championships

Conference championships

Bridgewater State claims 7 conference titles, the most recent of which came in 2023.

Year	Conference	Overall Record	Conference Record	Coach
1989	New England Football Conference	9–1	6–0	Peter Mazzaferro
1992		9–1–1	8–0
1997†		7–3	7–1
1999		10–1	6–0
2000		8–3	5–1
2016	Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference	8–3	8–0	Joe Verria
2023†		7–3	7–1

† Co-champions

Division championships

Bridgewater State claims 7 division titles, the most recent of which came in 2008.

Year	Division	Coach	Overall Record	Conference Record	Opponent	CG result
1989	NEFC South	Peter Mazzaferro	9–1	6–0	Maine Maritime	W 14–10
1990			8–2	6–0	Plymouth State	L 7–26
1991			8–2	6–0	UMass Lowell	L 7–10
1998†	NEFC Red		7–3	5–1	N/A lost tiebreaker to Maine Maritime
1999			10–1	6–0	No championship game held
2000†	NEFC Bogan		8–3	5–1	Salve Regina	W 27–24
2008†		Chuck Denune	7–3	6–1	N/A lost tiebreaker to Maine Maritime

† Co-champions

Postseason games

NCAA Division III playoff games

Bridgewater State has appeared in the Division III playoffs four times, with an overall record of 0–4.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1999	First Round	Ursinus	L, 38–43
2000	First Round	Hobart	L, 0–25
2012	First Round	Widener	L, 14–44
2016	First Round	Alfred	L, 27–33

Bowl games

Bridgewater State has participated in nine bowl games, and has a record of 4–5.

Season	Coach	Bowl	Opponent	Result
1989	Peter Mazzaferro	ECAC Bowl	Alfred	L 27–30
1992		ECAC Bowl	RPI	L 25–28
2005	Chuck Denune	ECAC Bowl	Fitchburg State	W 34–17
2006		ECAC Bowl	Coast Guard	W 41–22
2007		ECAC Bowl	Plymouth State	L 21–24
2011		ECAC Bowl	Alfred	L 10–41
2015		ECAC Bowl	Carnegie Mellon	L 13–48
2018	Joe Verria	New England Bowl	Salve Regina	W 34–19
2022		New England Bowl	Catholic	W 34–24

List of head coaches

Key

Key to symbols in coaches list

General		Overall		Conference		Postseason [A 1]
No.	Order of coaches [A 2]	GC	Games coached	CW	Conference wins	PW	Postseason wins
DC	Division championships	OW	Overall wins	CL	Conference losses	PL	Postseason losses
CC	Conference championships	OL	Overall losses	CT	Conference ties	PT	Postseason ties
NC	National championships	OT	Overall ties [A 3]	C%	Conference winning percentage
†	Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame	O%	Overall winning percentage [A 4]

Coaches

List of head football coaches showing season(s) coached, overall records, conference records, postseason records, championships and selected awards

No.	Name	Season(s)	GC	OW	OL	OT	O%	CW	CL	CT	C%	PW	PL	PT	DC	CC	NC	Awards
1	Ed Swenson [13] [14]	1960–1967	47	14	33	0	0.298	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
2	Peter Mazzaferro [15] [16]	1968–1986, 1988–2004	339	195	137	7	0.586	148	82	0	0.643	0	4	0	6	5	0	–
3	Jim Crowley	1987	9	4	5	0	0.444	3	2	0	0.600	0	0	0	0	0	0	–
4	Chuck Denune [17] [18]	2005–2015	112	75	37	0	0.670	55	24	0	0.696	2	4	0	1	0	0	–
5	Joe Verria [19]	2016–present	63	37	26	0	0.587	48	24	0	0.667	2	2	0	–	1	0	–

Year-by-year results

National champions

Conference champions

Division champions

Bowl game berth

Playoff berth

Season	Year	Head Coach	Association	Division	Conference	Record							Postseason	Final ranking
						Overall			Conference
						Win	Loss	Tie	Finish	Win	Loss	Tie
Bridgewater State Bears [20]
1960	1960	Ed Swenson	NAIA	—	NAIA Independent	1	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1961	1961					3	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1962	1962					1	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1963	1963					2	5	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1964	1964					0	7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1965	1965		NCAA	College Division	NEFC	0	6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1966	1966					3	4	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1967	1967					4	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1968	1968	Peter Mazzaferro				5	3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1969	1969					3	4	1	—	—	—	—	—	—
1970	1970					0	8	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1971	1971					3	6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1972	1972					4	5	0	5th	2	2	0	—	—
1973	1973			Division III		5	5	0	T–3rd	2	2	0	—	—
1974	1974					6	4	0	T–5th	4	3	0	—	—
1975	1975					7	3	0	T–4th	5	3	0	—	—
1976	1976					6	3	0	T–2nd	5	3	0	—	—
1977	1977					6	3	0	T–2nd	5	3	0		—
1978	1978					3	6	0	7th	3	5	0	—	—
1979	1979					3	5	1	8th	3	5	1	—	—
1980	1980					5	3	1	T–4th	5	3	1	—	—
1981	1981					3	6	0	T–7th	3	6	0	—	—
1982	1982					5	3	1	4th	5	3	1	—	—
1983	1983					4	5	0	T–5th	4	5	0	—	—
1984	1984					2	7	0	T–7th	2	7	0	—	—
1985	1985					5	4	0	3rd	5	4	0	—	—
1986	1986					6	1	2	4th	6	1	2	—	—
1987	1987	Jim Crowley				4	5	0	T–2nd (South)	3	2	0	—	—
1988	1988	Peter Mazzaferro				5	4	0	T–4th (South)	3	3	0	—	—
1989	1989					9	1	0	1st (South)	6	0	0	L ECAC North Bowl	—
1990	1990					8	2	0	1st (South)	6	0	0	Division champions	—
1991	1991					8	2	0	1st (South)	6	0	0	Division champions	—
1992	1992					9	1	1	1st	8	0	0	L ECAC Northeast Bowl	—
1993	1993					5	5	0	T–3rd	5	3	0	—	—
1994	1994					6	4	0	T–3rd	6	2	0	—	—
1995	1995					6	4	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	—	—
1996	1996					5	5	0	T–5th	4	4	0	—	—
1997	1997					7	3	0	T–1st	7	1	0	Conference Champions	—
1998	1998					7	3	0	1st (Red)	7	1	0	Conference Champions	—
1999	1999					10	1	0	1st (Red)	6	0	0	L NCAA Division III First Round	—
2000	2000					8	3	0	T–1st (Bogan)	5	1	0	L NCAA Division III First Round	—
2001	2001					5	4	0	3rd (Bogan)	3	3	0	—	—
2002	2002					4	5	0	4th (Bogan)	3	3	0	—	—
2003	2003					6	3	0	3rd (Bogan)	4	2	0	—	—
2004	2004					6	3	0	T–2nd (Bogan)	4	2	0	—	—
2005	2005	Chuck Denune				9	1	0	2nd (Bogan)	5	1	0	W ECAC Northeast Bowl	—
2006	2006					8	2	0	2nd (Bogan)	6	1	0	W ECAC North Atlantic Bowl	—
2007	2007					6	4	0	2nd (Bogan)	5	2	0	L ECAC North Atlantic Bowl	—
2008	2008					7	3	0	T–1st (Bogan)	6	1	0	Division champions	—
2009	2009					7	3	0	T–2nd (Bogan)	5	2	0	—	—
2010	2010					5	5	0	T–5th (Bogan)	3	4	0	—	—
2011	2011					7	3	0	T–2nd (Bogan)	5	2	0	L ECAC Northeast Bowl	—
2012	2012					9	2	0	2nd (Bogan)	6	1	0	L NCAA Division III First Round	—
2013	2013				MASCAC	6	4	0	T–3rd	5	3	0	—	—
2014	2014					4	6	0	T–6th	3	5	0	—	—
2015	2015					7	4	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	L ECAC Legacy Bowl	—
2016	2016	Joe Verria				8	3	0	1st	8	0	0	L NCAA Division III First Round	—
2017	2017					2	8	0	T–7th	2	6	0	—	—
2018	2018					8	3	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	W New England Bowl	—
2019	2019					6	4	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	—	—
Season canceled due to Covid-19
2021	2021	Joe Verria	NCAA	Division III	MASCAC	6	4	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	—	—
2022	2022					7	4	0	T–2nd	6	2	0	W New England Bowl	—
2023	2023												—	—

Notable former players

• Christopher Dijak – Professional wrestler ^[21]
• Joe Domingos – Former head coach for Massachusetts Maritime ^[22]
• Paul Melicharek – Former defensive lineman ^[23]
• Andrae Murphy – Current head coach for Dean, former defensive back and linebacker ^[24]
• Joe Verria – Current head coach for Bridgewater State, former defensive tackle ^[25]

See also

• Bridgewater State Bears

Notes

1. The program was discontinued in 1925. It was relaunched in 1960;65 years ago (1960).

1. Although the first Rose Bowl Game was played in 1902, it has been continuously played since the 1916 game, and is recognized as the oldest bowl game by the NCAA. "—" indicates any season prior to 1916 when postseason games were not played. ^[10]
2. A running total of the number of head coaches, with coaches who served separate tenures being counted only once. Interim head coaches are represented with "Int" and are not counted in the running total. "—" indicates the team played but either without a coach or no coach is on record. "X" indicates an interim year without play.
3. Overtime rules in college football were introduced in 1996, making ties impossible in the period since. ^[11]
4. When computing the win–loss percentage, a tie counts as half a win and half a loss. ^[12]

References

1. Historic Cranberry Bowl Enters 41st Edition, November 14, 2019
2. "Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (1971-1972 through present)" . Retrieved October 24, 2020.
3. Hanley, Jim. "BSU: THE CRANBERRY BOWL – My Backyard News" . Retrieved March 18, 2023.
4. Fenton, Jim. "Joe Verria chased NFL dream after playing at Bridgewater State". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
5. "Bridgewater Normal 8, Boston Latin 4". The Boston Globe. October 7, 1894. p. 6. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
6. Rosa, Francis (December 24, 1959). "Bridgewater Tchrs. To Have Grid Team". The Boston Globe. p. 13. Retrieved August 22, 2024.
7. "Football". Bridgewater St. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
8. NEFC Timeline
9. Falcons Drop MASCAC Clash To Bears, October 1, 2022
10. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2011). Bowl/All-Star Game Records (PDF). Indianapolis, Indiana: NCAA. pp. 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
11. Whiteside, Kelly (August 25, 2006). "Overtime system still excites coaches". USA Today. McLean, Virginia. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
12. Finder, Chuck (September 6, 1987). "Big plays help Paterno to 200th". The New York Times. New York City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
13. "Obituary for Edward C SWENSON". The Boston Globe. January 3, 2002. p. 29. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
14. "Clipped From The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. January 20, 2002. p. 256. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
15. Fenton, Jim. "COLLEGES: Bridgewater State's Pete Mazzaferro had a Hall of Fame career". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
16. "American Football Monthly - Attacking Defenses With The Veer". www.americanfootballmonthly.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
17. Staff Reporter. "Bridgewater State football coach charged with domestic assault". Wicked Local. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
18. "Bridgewater State football coach charged with domestic assault". www.boston.com. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
19. Fenton, Jim. "COLLEGE FOOTBALL: New role for Joe Verria at Bridgewater State". Enterprise News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
20. "Football Year-by-Year Records Since 1960". bsubears.com. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
21. "Dijak finds success at Bridgewater State". Sentinel and Enterprise. November 3, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
22. MMA Inducts Class of 2008
23. Paul Melicharek Garners Pair of Postseason Football Honors, December 5, 2012
24. "Bridgewater St". Bridgewater St. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
25. Joe Verria to Remain Bridgewater State Football Coach, November 10, 2016

External links

• Official website